The Indian stock market resumed its losing streak in Wednesday’s trade after a brief rally in the previous session, as investors mulled the implications of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade regime, while weak Chinese inflation data also weighed on sentiment.
The Nifty 50 ended the session with a decline of 0.19% at 25,475 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex fell 0.21% to 83,536 points. The broader markets, however, closed mixed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 slipping 0.13%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index ended the session with a gain of 0.60%.
Uncertainty over the potential trade deal between India and the U.S., along with Trump’s fresh tariff warning letters to 14 nations, led investors to turn risk averse. While the White House has indicated that a trade deal with India is in its final stages, Trump has also warned of an extra 10% tariff on countries, including India, aligning with what he described as the “anti-American policies of BRICS,” as the bloc convened for a summit in Brazil.
Trump on Tuesday also announced a 50% levy on copper imports and hinted that further sector-specific tariffs will soon be announced. He threatened Tuesday afternoon to impose up to 200% tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S. but said that he will “give people about a year or a year and a half” until the duties go into effect.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said that there would be no change or extensions on the raft of duties he announced on those nations, which include Japan and South Korea. He also signed an executive order extending the reciprocal tariff deadline to August 1 from July 9, giving negotiators more time to reach agreements.
Trump initially announced the higher reciprocal rates on over 50 trading partners on April 2 but lowered those rates temporarily to 10% for 90 days, allowing time for negotiations, which are expected to end today.
Stocks that sank as Indian stock market struggled
As the Indian stock market failed to hold on to the previous day’s momentum, several key stocks corrected sharply. Union Bank of India emerged as the top laggard, falling 4% following the release of its Q1FY26 business update, which showed a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) decline in both deposits and loan growth.
Hindustan Copper was the second-worst performer among Nifty 500 stocks, falling 3.6% after former U.S. President Donald Trump announced 50% duties on copper imports. Shares of GAIL (India) also dropped 3.8%, while Brigade Enterprises, Max Healthcare Institute, and Phoenix Mills corrected by up to 3.7%.
Meanwhile, Vedanta’s share price crashed nearly 8% in intraday trading before closing with a 3.3% decline. The fall followed a report by short-seller Viceroy Research, which flagged alleged financial irregularities at Vedanta Resources (VRL), the heavily indebted parent and majority owner of Indian-listed Vedanta and disclosed that it is short on VRL’s debt stack.
Other notable losers included Manappuram Finance, Valora Estate, Pfizer, Godrej Properties, Zee Entertainment, KEI Industries, Indraprastha Gas, APL Apollo Tubes, Hindustan Zinc, IOC, Siemens, Raymond Realty, 360 One WAM, and around 35 other constituents of the Nifty 500, all of which closed with losses ranging between 1.5% and 3.3%.
Stocks that outperformed the Indian stock market today
Although the Indian stock market ended with a marginal loss, several stocks managed to post healthy gains. Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy emerged as the top gainer, rising 8.55%, followed by Metropolis Healthcare, Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company, PG Electroplast, Emami, Global Health, and PCBL Chemical, all of which closed with gains of over 5%.
Other stocks, including Swan Energy, Transformers & Rectifiers, Garden Reach Shipbuilders, Syrma SGS Technology, Himadri Speciality, RBL Bank, Nykaa, and 48 other constituents of the Nifty 500, ended the session with gains ranging between 1.5% and 4.8%.